A Bushkill Township man who allegedly shot his cousin to death in a “family dispute” Wednesday night, then held police at bay for three hours during a standoff that sent Bethlehem schools into lockdown, had his mentally disabled sister with him during the crime spree, authorities say.

John Michael Hann, 61, who surrendered to police shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday, is in the Northampton County Jail, being held without bail on charges of homicide and attempted homicide.

Contributed Photo

John Michael Hann, 61, surrendered to police shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday after an hours-long standoff. He is in the Northampton County Jail, being held without bail on charges of homicide and attempted homicide for the shooting death of his cousin on Wednesday, October 5.

John Michael Hann, 61, surrendered to police shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday after an hours-long standoff. He is in the Northampton County Jail, being held without bail on charges of homicide and attempted homicide for the shooting death of his cousin on Wednesday, October 5. (Contributed Photo)

Police are still trying to piece together a motive for the shooting, which left 64-year-old Joseph F. Mullner Jr. dead and his wife, Melinda Mullner, 61, seriously injured.

“This was a personal dispute that was going on between the two cousins,” District Attorney John Morganelli said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

“It may have involved financial issues. That is still being looked at."

The shooting occurred around 6:20 pm Wednesday at the Mullners’ home at 517 Longacre Drive in Lehigh Township.

When officers arrived, they found Joseph Mullner dead in the driveway and his wife injured inside the home, court records say.

A 61-year-old man charged in a Lehigh Township killing and attempted homicide is involved in a standoff Thursday morning in Bethlehem Township.

(The Morning Call)

It may have involved financial issues. That is still being looked at.— District Attorney John Morganelli on dispute between cousins

Melinda Mullner, who called 911 after being shot, identified the gunman as her husband’s cousin, “Johnny.”

Neighbors told police the shooter escaped in a dark-colored pickup truck. Police searched for the vehicle, and also staked out several properties that Mullner owns in Northampton County, Morganelli said.

Officers converged on Hann’s home at 205 Cherry Court in Bushkill overnight, but did not find him there.

Bethlehem Township police caught up with Hann around 7 a.m. Thursday on Oakland Road, near another residence Hann owns. Lehigh Township police Chief Scott Fogel said officers attempted to stop Hann’s pickup, but he refused to pull over the vehicle.

According to scanner reports, the truck was quickly surrounded by law enforcement vehicles. Police radio dispatchers said officers had their weapons drawn but Hann would not comply with their orders.

A 61-year-old man has been charged in Wednesday’s night homicide in Lehigh Township, following an hours-long standoff with police in which he was armed with multiple handguns, authorities said.

John Michael...

(Laurie Mason Schroeder, Riley Yates and Matthew Coughlin)

Hann was armed with multiple handguns during the standoff but eventually surrendered, after speaking to a police negotiator, Morganelli said.

The sister, who is in her 50s, was unhurt when Hann let her out of the truck before surrendering himself, Morganelli said.

“It is also our belief that she was present when the homicide occurred, that she was present during this whole ordeal,” Morganelli said.

Joseph Mullner suffered five gunshot wounds fired from two guns, said county Coroner Zachary Lysek. The wounds were consistent with handgun fire, he said.

Morganelli called Melinda Mullner’s wounds “serious,” but did not know her medical condition.

“We are hoping and praying that she recovers,” Morganelli said at the news conference.

A dog that Melinda Mullner was holding was also hit by gunfire, suffering a wound to its foot, authorities said. It ran off after being shot but returned several hours later and was taken to an animal hospital, Morganelli said.

A woman was shot three times and a man also was wounded Wednesday evening in Lehigh Township by a man who fled in a dark blue pickup truck, according to emergency radio reports.

(Chris Shipley/The Morning Call)

We are hoping and praying that she recovers.— District Attorney John Morganelli on shooting victim Melinda Mullner

Police investigators recovered numerous bullet casings inside and outside the residence. Officers interviewed a neighbor, who told them he heard four gunshots, the records say.

Several neighbors declined to talk to a reporter about the crime.

During the standoff, Bethlehem Area School District placed Freedom High School, East Hills Middle School, and Bethlehem Area Vo-Tech on a lockdown that was lifted around 10:30 a.m.

Morganelli described Hann as someone who was “not known to police.”

Hann formerly lived on the 3400 block of Lafayette Drive in Bethlehem Township. On Thursday, a neighbor who lives cater-corner to the home said Hann moved out about six months ago.

The neighbor said Hann was quiet and kept to himself, living there with his disabled sister. The home originally belonged to their parents.

The charges against Hann surprised a Bethlehem attorney who represented him several years ago after Hann’s parents passed away.

The lawyer, William Matz, called Hann a “quiet guy” and a “nice person,” but declined to discuss other aspects of his former client’s demeanor.

“He may have had some paranoiac issues,” said Matz, who wouldn’t further describe them. “He was concerned about things around him a little bit.”

Matz administered the 2010 estate of Hann’s late mother. Hann’s sister, identified in the mother’s obituary as Mary Louise Hann, was in need of care at the time, and her brother stepped forward to fill the void created by their parents’ deaths, Matz said.

“He was very, very committed to his sister and his sister adored him,” said Matz, who helped John Hann obtain guardianship of the sister. “He was actually giving up his work to take care of his sister after his parents died, and that was admirable.”

At the time, Hann held a longtime job in manufacturing in New Jersey, Matz said. To be with his sister, Hann moved back to the Lehigh Valley from New Jersey.

“That’s the guy I knew,” Matz said.

State police Lt. Ed Murphy said Mary Louise Hann was taken Thursday to the police barracks in Bethlehem, and authorities were trying to locate someone to take care of her.